# Episode 67 | Going Low Contact & No Contact with Caregivers: A Trauma-Informed Clinical Framework for Navigating Estrangement Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-affirming-minds-podcast-7020030/episode-67-going-low-contact-no-contact-with-caregivers-a-trauma-informed-clinical-framework-for-navigating-estrangement Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-affirming-minds-podcast-7020030/episode-67-going-low-contact-no-contact-with-caregivers-a-trauma-informed-clinical-framework-for-navigating-estrangement.md Podcast: [The Affirming Minds Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-affirming-minds-podcast-7020030) Published: 2026-02-17T07:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shaina-siber-sanderowitz.mykajabi.com/podcasts/the-affirming-minds-podcast/episodes/2149166974 Audio file: https://app.kajabi.com/podcasts/medias/2149166974.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-affirming-minds-podcast-7020030/episodes/episode-67-going-low-contact-no-contact-with-caregivers-a-trauma-informed-clinical-framework-for-navigating-estrangement Duration seconds: 4558 ## Resource   Course Information: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHBhSxa9gU/RwQ9m-fExyl2E3Wn0felXA/view?utm_content=DAHBhSxa9gU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hbd367d8551 --- Episode Summary: Family estrangement is often portrayed as impulsive, trendy, or selfish. In reality, navigating low contact or no contact with a parent is typically a painful decision — one that is rarely made lightly and almost never without history. As public debate around estrangement has intensified — including criticism directed at therapists — this episode asks an essential question: What is our clinical role in this conversation? Host  Shaina Siber, LCSW  offers a trauma-informed, ethically grounded framework for clinicians working with adult clients who are considering distance from caregivers. She argues that therapy should not treat reconciliation as morally superior — nor estrangement as inherently empowered. Instead, clinicians are called to remain  outcome-neutral and harm-responsive . This episode provides: A structured assessment model for evaluating impact, boundary history, accountability capacity, and safety Clarification of what “boundaries” actually mean — and how they differ from requests or impact statements Guidance for navigating trauma history, identity-based rejection, and developmental instability A clear stance on avoiding coercion while naming harm when present Estrangement decisions are complex, relational, and often grief-filled. This conversation offers therapists a grounded framework for helping clients move through these waters with clarity, agency, and care. --- About Shaina: Shaina Siber-Sanderowitz, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker with 15 years of experience providing psychotherapy to div… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-affirming-minds-podcast-7020030/episodes/episode-67-going-low-contact-no-contact-with-caregivers-a-trauma-informed-clinical-framework-for-navigating-estrangement/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-affirming-minds-podcast-7020030/episode-67-going-low-contact-no-contact-with-caregivers-a-trauma-informed-clinical-framework-for-navigating-estrangement.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.